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Research Question: What was the impact of the Iroquois Confederacy on the early engagements of the French and indian war, and how did one of the "Half-King's" start it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War

The British colonists were supported at various times by the Iroquois, Catawba, and Cherokee tribes, and the French colonists were supported by Wabanaki Confederacy member tribes Abenaki and Mi'kmaq, and the Algonquin, Lenape, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes.

Citation: Hall, Richard. “The Causes of the French and Indian War and the Origins of the ‘Braddock Plan’: Rival Colonies and Their Claims to the Disputed Ohio.”" Atlantic Politics, Military Strategy and the French and Indian War, Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2016, pp. 21–49. War, Culture and Society, 1750-1850. 10.1007/978-3-319-30665-0_2

Quote: The colony’s economic woes also enabled it, ironically, to forge stronger alliances with Native American tribes. Because the British could sell greater quantities of cheaper and better-quality trade goods than the French, New France had to find alternative links to trade as the foundation of their Indian alliances. Such opportunities were found in service and war, with the French adopting the role of generous “fathers” as opposed to authoritarian European patriarchs. They also played numerous Native American functions, adapting to local protocols in order to assimilate into tribal traditions. Although far from perfect, and not without periods of mutual indifference, the French possessed great authority, but the Indians retained considerable voice and power. 37 It was a coexistence that brought very real economic, political and military benefits, the latter being reflected in the devastation wrought by the Franco-Indian raiding parties that plagued the British frontier prior to, and during, the French and Indian War.

Fortunately for the English (and earlier the Dutch who had first settled New Netherland), the French had not always enjoyed the same success in their attempts to enjoin the allegiance of the Iroquois. In the early seventeenth century, the then governor of New France, Samuel de Champlain, had supported the Huron against the Iroquois (the former were staunch enemies of the latter), and this had soured the relationship between the two sides for more than a century.

Phase 3:

Anderson, Fred, et al. “Crucible of War: the Seven Years' War & the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766.” Canadian Journal of History, vol. 35, no. 3, 2000, p. 473. Details the first interactions of General Braddock and his issues with the cultural differences of the Iroquois Confederacy and himself. His naivety leads to miscommunication and alienation of some of the tribes. The issues compound into some tribes either committing to neutrality or siding with the French.

Quote: Washington, concerned about a surprise attack, ordered Captain Peter Hogg to take seventy-five men and intercept the French between the meadows and the Monongahela, where they presumably had left their canoes. His concern changed to alarm after sunset, however, when a warrior arrived with a message from Tanaghrisson, who had encamped with a small group of Mingos a few miles away: the Half King himself had located the French camp just beyond the Laurel Ridge, about seven miles northwest of Washington’s position. Washington, realizing that he had sent half his troops off in the wrong direction, decided that he had to take action. Setting off before ten o’clock “in a heavy Rain and a Night as dark as Pitch” with forty-seven men (half the number left at Great Meadows),Washington made for Tanaghrisson’s camp. When the Virginians arrived at “about Sun-rise,” Washington and Tanaghrisson conferred, then “concluded that we should fall on them together.” Washington’s men, together with the Half King and several warriors, set off toward the hollow where the French had camped, then paused a short way off while two Indians went ahead “to discover where they were, as also their Posture, and what Sort of Ground was Thereabout.” Then, as Wasington described it in his diary, “we formed ourselves for an Engagement, marching one after the other, in the Indian Manner: We were advanced pretty near to them, as we though, when they discovered us; whereupon I ordered my company to fire; mine was supported by that of Mr. Waggonner’s, and my Company and his received the whole fire of the French, during the greatest Part of the Action, which only lasted a Quarter of an Hour, before the Enemy was routed. We killed Mr. deJumonville, the commander of that Party, as also nine others; we wounded one, and made Twenty-one Prisoners, among whom were M. La Froce, M. Drouillon, and two Cadets. The Indians scalpedthe Dead, and took away the most Part of their Arms….”

Summary: General Washington's coordinated assault with Tanaghrisson, that routed the french in a quarter hour just after sun-rise, was only possible thanks to Tanaghrisson scouting the local area the day prior and keeping his word in supporting the british forces.

Edit:He then learned of a French scouting party in the area from one of Tanaghrisson's warriors, so he joined Tanaghrisson's forces with the few men he could bring and surprised the Canadiens (French colonists of New France) on the morning of May 28 with a corrdinated assault in what became known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen.

Sam Bleiweis. “The Downfall of the Iroquios.” Emory Endeavors in World History, vol. 05,  2013, pp. 84-99. http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume5/gunpowder-age-v-bleiweis.pdf Describes the circumstances of the Iroquois Confederacy before and after the French and Indian War. This article discusses their stances of neutrality and the events that lead to the Confederacy crumbling.

Quote:Neutrality served as a way for the Iroquois to operate towards their own best interests; they were able to divert military activity away from Five Nations territory while they offered intelligence gathering to their allies (whether French or British). By being an insider with valuable information, the Iroquois secured themselves a regular supply of arms, money, ammunition, transportation, food, and other supplies. All of these things circled back to actually enhance the military reputation of the Iroquois, even though they were doing minimal fighting during this period. Another facet of the logic behind neutrality was that the Iroquois recognized that the Europeans were superior. The Montreal Treaty of 1701 was forged not only because they had been battling the Beaver Wars, but also came as a direct result of the Iroquois uneasiness about the colonization and expansion of the English. This was part of the reason that they made peace with the French and agreed to trade with them at Detroit. In return for trading privileges, the Five Nations pledged neutrality in the case of a Franco-British war.

Summary:The Iroquois Confederacy's stance of neutrality was meant to ensure that neither the French nor British forces would fully focus on it while ensuring they benefited from trading with both.

Edit: The Iroquois Confederation dominated much of upstate New York and the Ohio Country, although Ohio also included Algonquian-speaking populations of Delaware and Shawnee, as well as Iroquoian-speaking Mingos. These tribes were formally under Iroquois rule and were limited by them in their authority to make agreements.[18] The Iroquois Confederation initially held a stance of neutrality to ensure continued trade with both French and British. Though maintaining this stance proved difficult as the Iroquois Confederation tribes sided and supported French or British causes depending on which side provided the most beneficial trade.